George Nelson’s Ball Clock May Not Be His After All

Put together a bunch of great designers, heavy drinking, and some sketch paper, and the next morning you’ll end up with at least one great design. The problem? No one will remember who made it.

The Ball Clock is credited to George Nelson Associates, but even Nelson isn’t sure who made it. Isamu Noguchi, Bucky Fuller, Irving Harper, and George Nelson spent an alcohol-fueled night goofing off and one-upping each other with outrageous sketches. The next day, Nelson discovered the Ball Clock amongst the drawings. “I don’t know to this day who cooked it up,” he’s since said, adding, “I know it wasn’t me. It might have been Irving, but he didn’t think so.”